As a rule, I’m not a party person. Not even during the holiday season. There is one party I like to attend, though. The cookie party! Invitations are sent out, RSVPs received, numbers of cookie-bakers tallied, and everyone makes enough to share.
The host/ess can determine the number. A half dozen per participant is typical. For example, if 20 cookie bakers are coming, make enough for each person (the 19 others, because, if you did your math correctly, you are one of the 20) to receive six of your cookies. Again, doing the math, that is 114. You can take more to share…
If you take your cookies on a pretty plate, be sure to have another container (or two, that’s a lot of cookies) to take your haul home.
All that being said, this entire post will be dedicated to the cookie lovers among us.
From The Food Network
https://www.foodnetwork.com/holidays-and-parties/photos/top-holiday-cookies
How can you choose from just one or two cookbooks? This site has over 100 recipes. For this site, you click on each picture to get more information. Unlike the other sites referenced here (which are one page, just keep scrolling), this one takes a little time to navigate. I pulled out a few interesting ones.
The photos come complete with serving suggestions. They are beautiful…. The recipes also include candies.
Try reindeer mask cookies, penguin slice-and-bake, eggnog melt away, peppermint meringues (they look like red, pink and white Hershey kisses), M&M magic bars, Ree Drummond’s favorite Christmas cookies, rosemary chocolate chip shortbread, Kentucky pecan bars, gingerbread reindeer, Christmas tree cookie forest (a decorative treat), no-bake sticky toffee balls, classic shortbread, Katie Lee’s no-bake chocolate-peanut butter cookies, cornmeal wreaths, cinnamon-spiced hot chocolate cookies, Christmas citrus squares, peanut butter nanaimo bars (from Canada).
Each cookie is beautiful and would be a hit at any gathering.
From Good Housekeeping
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/christmas-ideas/g2943/christmas-cookies/
Good Housekeeping offers 79 recipes. I wonder how they arrived at that number….
The site concentrates on teaching you how to ice and decorate cookies, from easy classic methods to elaborate showstoppers. It also goes into cookies as gifts.
I’m not even going to bother giving you a list. If you want to make beautiful, unique cookies for your family, a celebration, or for gifts, this is the site for you. Check it out.
I mean, really, these photos are amazing. Scroll down to #63 to see the partridge cookies.
Wow.
From Sally’s Baking Addiction
https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/50-favorite-christmas-cookie-recipes/
This site has over 50 recipes, mostly cookies but also some candies.
She starts with a classic gingerbread cookie and gives several hints and tips about making them perfectly.
She has a section for sugar cookies with tips on icing and decorating. This section includes a video tutorial. She really wants to teach you to be an expert in the kitchen!
Her “classic” recipes have a twist. Toasted pecan snowball, toasted hazelnut slice ‘n’ bakes with milk chocolate, soft white chocolate chip molasses cookies, and mint chocolate brownies.
For coffee lovers, she has mocha cheesecake brownies, peppermint mocha cookies and mocha mint chocolate chunk.
She has salted caramel dark chocolate cookies and salted caramel chocolate chip cookies.
One of her candies is dark chocolate almond toffee. Looks delicious!
The list goes on….
From The Cookie Rookie
https://www.thecookierookie.com/10-holiday-cookies/
This site has 25 recipes, and they are supposed to be easy. Each recipe comes with a photo. Not only does this site has recipes, it walks a rookie cook through the basics: equipment needed, basic grocery supplies and tips to making the perfect cookie. At the end of the recipes, they give tips on storing, freezing and gift-giving.
The list starts with Santa’s Favorite Sugar Cookies. After that, the site diverges into sections:
- Traditional Christmas Cookies (chocolate spritz, cranberry orange shortbread, soft gingerbread with rum glaze, sugar, iced butter, snickerdoodles)
- Chocolate Christmas Cookies (chocolate gooey butter, s’mores, chocolate sugar, chocolate mint thumbprint, flourless hot chocolate, chocolate peppermint, chocolate thumbprint, fudgy brownie)
- Unique Christmas Cookies (Nutella stuffed snowball, copycat Milano slice, peanut butter cup, M&M, oatmeal chocolate chip, peanut butter kiss, loaded salted caramel, strawberry cake mix, Snickers cookie bars, easy lemon meringue, Twix, soft molasses, M&M red velvet, ginger doozie, peanut butter)
- Chocolate Chip Cookies (giant loaded, applesauce, cookie bars, soft & chewy)
From Bon Appetit
https://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/desserts/slideshow/cookies-cookies-cookies
These recipes look very upscale! Each recipe comes with a photograph. There are 89; here are a few to whet your “appetit”!
- Zebra-Striped Shortbread Cookies (fancy-looking chocolate-vanilla swirl)
- Tie-Dye Butter Cookies (iced with a swirl-n-dip method)
- Raspberry Rugelach (bright, sweet-tart roll-ups)
- Peanut Butter Paprika Cookies (soft, salty-sweet, chewy center, spiked with smoked paprika)
- Black-and-White-and-Green Cookies (think Thin Mint meets New York’s black-and-white cookie)
- Chocolate-Tahini Linzer Cookies (melted tahini with chocolate; glossy bittersweet filling; every kind of shape)
- Pistachio Thumbprint Cookies (festive, green, creamy pistachio paste)
- Morning Glory Breakfast Cookies (textured, dense, chewy)
- Blood Orange and Poppy Polenta Shortbread Cookies (if you can’t find blood oranges, use naval)
You get the idea. Upscale, beautiful, delicious.
In Closing
Make them for a party; make them for your family; make them for yourself. And remember, with all of these recipes, you don’t have to limit yourself to making them over the holiday season. Just keep going. By next year, you’ll be about halfway through the list……..